Why your French still sucks

And why vocabulary is the key to overcoming a language-learning plateau

In my early twenties, I decided to learn German, for no other good reason than seeing the movie Run, Lola, Run, and thinking that the language sounded cool!

I had successfully taught myself English and intermediate-level Spanish, so I was ready for another language. I had been hit by a language-learning fever: this intense desire to learn as many languag…